An Unexpected Development
by Digitick
Summary: Yumi's fallen pregnant, but the father's not who you think it is......Intrigued? Then read on
1. Chapter 1 Surprise

Alrighty then, let's get this story underway.

As you've read from the synopsis, all is not right in the CL world, but Yumi's pregnancy is just the first and minor problem.

Enter Suspense Here

Enjoy!

**An Unexpected Development**  
Part 1: Surprise

"Ok Yumi, that should do it" Jeremy said over the intercom system as he sat in front of the computer in the Control Room of the Factory with Odd, Ulrich and Aelita standing behind him, all four of them slightly nervous, worried and confused.  
Down a level in the Scanner Room, one of the Scanners opened up with a hiss and a cloud of mist, quickly followed by Yumi as she stepped out of the machine and walked towards the elevator.  
"Well, it's going to take the computer a while to go through the scanned info, so would you mind telling us what's going on?" Jeremie asked as she walked up to her friends.   
He had a right to sound grumpy. Just like Aelita, Ulrich and Odd, he was worried about her and her disappearance from school that day.   
And when they'd finally heard something from her, she'd given them no answers but an order to meet at the Factory.  
Yumi took a deep breath to steady her nerves, looked her worried friends in the eye and said:  
"Well, in a nutshell... I'm pregnant"

Flashback - Early Morning

The day began so perfectly with a deep blue sky speckled little with small white clouds, the song of busy birds and cars and people filled the air with activity, and Yumi was busy too, throwing up in the bathroom.  
"Uunh..." she groaned as she stood up from where she'd been bent over the toilet and flashed it before turning to the basin to wash her mouth of the awful taste still burning her mouth and throat.  
"What's wrong with me?" she thought as she gurgled some mouth wash before spitting it out. "Am I getting sick? Or maybe it's something from last night's dinner-"   
But before she could finish the thought her stomach clenched again, and she quickly rushed and reached the toilet just in time before throwing up into it again.  
"Yumi?" her mom's muffled voice drifted in past the closed door.  
"Are you OK? What's taking you so long in there?"  
"Uh, nothing Mom!" Yumi said, groaning a little as she felt her stomach ache a bit again. "I'm almost done!"  
"Well, hurry up or you'll be late for school!" Mrs. Ishiyama said before walking away.  
Yumi waited until she heard her mom's footsteps disappear before she slowly got back to her feet.  
After washing her mouth again and grabbing her bag, she made her way down to the kitchen, peeked around to make sure her mom wasn't there, quickly grabbed some of those stomach settler pills she'd seen her dad take and then headed out to the front door and off to school.  
She knew she should have told her mom, but she was so busy these days with Hiroki and Dad that Yumi didn't want to add more worry to her live.  
So Yumi popped on of the little tablets into her mouth where it started to fizz, swallowed and started of to Kadic.

But at school luck just wasn't with her. During lunch, as she and Aelita sat together in the cafeteria and waited for the guys, Yumi was wracked with pain again and almost threw up again.  
So with Aelita's help she went to the nurse's office, and after a brief examination by Dorothy, she found herself being driven by her mom to the hospital. "So Yumi" Dr. Erika asked as she sat next to the slightly frightened girl, "I just have a few questions to ask you. Firstly, how long have you had these illnesses?"  
"Uhm, a few days" Yumi said as she idly rubbed at the spot on her arm were they'd drawn blood.  
"And it's mostly in the mornings?"   
Yumi nodded.  
"Ok, one last question: How long ago was your last period?"  
"Well, I should've had it days ago. It's a bit late"  
"I see. Well, then Yumi, I think it's safe to say we know what's happened to you. You're pregnant"

"Pregnant?!" Ulrich stared in shock at Yumi.  
Yumi nodded and blushed slightly under the stares of her friends.  
"Wha- But- How?" he stuttered.  
"That's what my Dad wanted to know" Yumi said as she thought back to how her parents had taken the news. Her mom was shocked, but seemed to take it OK, but her dad...  
He'd yelled at her, his face red with anger, and demanded to know how it happened, how she could shame her family like this, and finally and most importantly, who the father was.  
"Hey yeah, who is the father?" Odd asked.  
"It's not... you and Ulrich didn't, y'know-"  
"NO!" Yumi and Ulrich said, glaring at Odd.  
"Hey, just asking" Odd said, hiding behind Aelita.   
"Yeah, well, that's what my dad wanted to know too" Yumi said.  
"It's not William, is it?" Ulrich asked suddenly, his face darkening with anger. Yumi shook her head again.   
"Well then who?" Odd asked.  
Yumi stared at the floor for a while and then said:  
"There is no father"   
"What do you mean there's no father?" Odd asked.  
"It means, Odd, that I haven't slept with anyone" Yumi said, glaring at Odd.  
"I'm still a virgin"  
"Oh, uh, oh" Odd said sheepishly, looking thoroughly embarrassed.  
"But Yumi, that just doesn't sound possible" Jeremy said from his chair as his computer slowly but surely finished up it's work.   
"Yeah" Odd said. "I mean, I might be failing Biology, but even I know you need a mommy and daddy to make a baby"   
"Oh no" Aelita said, a thought suddenly popping into her head.  
"You don't think it's... Xana?"  
Yumi nodded again. "Yeah. That's why I wanted the scan. Just in case he's the one who did this to me"  
Beep Beep Beep! the computer beeped as it finished it's job, and as one the gang turned to the computer to see the results.  
"Ok, let's see know" Jeremy said as he went through the data.  
"Everything else looks alright so far, except for the extra cellular and hormone activity caused by your.. uh, by the pregnancy.  
Hmm, I don't see any of Xana's codes or ghosts anywhere"  
"Could you still help me find out whose the father?" Yumi asked, her voice a little urgent, a little scared.  
"Hang on" Jeremy said as he typed away at the keyboard, and within seconds the computer gave them the answer to their question,  
opening up a window on the screen with the child's DNA.  
On the left side was Yumi's, and on the right...  
"No way" Ulrich said, shocked.  
"It can't be" Jeremie muttered, stunned.  
"Oh man" Odd said, surprised.  
"But how?" Yumi said as she and the gang turned and stared at Aelita.  
"Me?" Aelita said in shock as she stared at the screen where her face floated next to Yumi's.


	2. Chapter 1 Surprise pt2

Heh, bet that was a bit of shock

And now for the second half of Part 1, with some answers, and more questions...

**An Unexpected Development**  
Part 1: Surprise (cont.)

"Me?" Aelita said in shock and surprise as everyone stared at her.  
For the next few minutes the only sound in the room was the soft beeping of the computer with it's screen still showing Yumi and Aelita's DNA dancing side by side.  
Finally, Odd broke the silence by asking what everyone was thinking:  
"Um, so... anyone going to explain how this is possible?"  
As one they all turned to Jeremie.  
"Uh, well, I've got an idea of what might have caused it" Jeremie said.  
"Just give me a sec" he said and turned back to the screen, scanning through the information for the proof he needed to confirm his suspicion.  
"Ah ha! Just as I thought"  
"Well?" Yumi asked, "Are you going to tell us or what?"  
"Oh, sure, yeah. Well, remember a while ago Xana stole your DNA sequence, right?"   
"It's not something I think I'll ever forget"  
"Right, and do you remember how Aelita tried to save you?"  
"Yeah, but what's that got to do with- Oh..." Yumi gasped as she realized where Jeremie was going with this. Behind her Ulrich and Aelita's eyes went wide as they too realised what Jeremie meant.   
"Uhm, would you mind explaining it to me Jeremie, cause I've got no idea what you're going on about" Odd said, grinning a bit sheepishly as Jeremie sighed.  
"Aelita tried to save Yumi by transferring her DNA into Yumi's. And she almost managed to upload all of it before you guys stopped her. In fact, up to 70 of her DNA was inside of Yumi at the time we managed to get her original sequence back. I don't know how, but somehow the two must've mixed, and then-"  
"And then instant pregnant" Yumi muttered softly as she held a hand to her stomach.  
"But, shouldn't my DNA have been deleted or replaced when Yumi's was restored?" Aelita asked.   
"Yes, but you guys were on Lyoko, and that might have been a factor. Her virtual body might've just stored your DNA along with hers, and then Yumi's real body's genetics might have activated it. I just don't have enough information"  
"Do you- do you at least know if it's human, and not one of those- monsters of Xana?" Yumi asked.  
"I'm sorry Yumi, but I just don't - "  
"You just don't know, yeah, I get it" Yumi growled.  
"Well is there anything you do know? Anything useful? Anything that might help me, or tell me that this- this thing is just a bad dream?!" she shouted as she grabbed Jeremie by the shirt and shook him.  
"Woah, Yumi, Yumi calm down!" Ulrich shouted as he grabbed her by the arms and pulled her off of Jeremie.  
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Yumi growled angrily as she struggled and broke free from Ulrich's arms.   
"You're not the one whose carrying some kind of freak, whose father is ashamed of you, whose got to carry it and possible die from it!" she shouted as she paced away from them, a tear running down her cheek, leaned against the wall of the room and started to cry.   
The others stood in awkward silence as Yumi wept and wept in fear and frustration.  
"Yumi, I'm sorry" Aelita said softly as she walked up to her friend.  
"I, I didn't know this was going to happen. But I promise you we'll find an answer-"  
"Don't touch me!" Yumi snapped and pulled away as Aelita placed her hand on her shoulder to comfort her.  
"Don't you think you've done enough already? Just leave me alone, OK?"  
"Yumi, I-"  
"Look, just- I just need to be alone right now. I'm going home" Yumi said as she pushed away from the wall and walked towards the elevator, wiping away a few last tears as she climbed in and headed back up while the gang watched and worried about their friend's wellbeing.   
"Poor Yumi, do you think one of us should go with her?" Aelita asked.  
"No, she needs time on her own. Better just leave her for now" Jeremie said as he turned back to his computer and started working on the data.  
"I'm not so sure about that Jer" Odd said.

Later that night, after Jeremie had left, in the dark room of the computer room, the screens lit up by themselves and started opening up all recent files that had been in use for the day, the information flashing by as something read and examined every last bit of data.  
And then when the computer showed the file with Yumi and Aelita's DNA mixed, the eye of X.A.N.A. appeared on the screen and let off an electronic roar of anger.

And across town, at the hospital, a man in a dark suit was busy rifling through the files and blood samples of the Hematology department until he found the name he was looking for:  
Ishiyama, Yumi  
A smile flitted across his face as he grabbed the file and one of her blood samples out of the storage freezer and then left, closing the door quietly behind him before he made his way to the exit as softly and silently as possible. Once outside he headed towards a black car waiting by the sidewalk, climbed in and said:  
"I've got it. Let's go"   
The driver, an almost clone version of the first guy nodded and started up the engine before driving off into the night.

Continues soon in Part 2: Decisions


	3. Chapter 2

**Finally found a chance to update the story **

**Here's a short update, and I'll have another one up tomorrow.**

**Till then, enjoy!**

**An Unexpected Development pt.2**

"Aaargh!" Yumi cried out as another agonizing bolt of pain shot through her body as she lay on the hospital bed with her mom holding her hand tightly while a doctor and his nurses busied themselves around her to try and help her as much as they could as she grimaced and groaned and breathed hard as she gave birth.

"Come on Yumi, push!" the doctor said as he knelt between her legs, "Push just a little bit more!"

"Aaaah!" Yumi cried out again as she pushed and pushed and pushed with all her might, and then with a jolt she felt something leave her body just like that, the pain and agony disappearing with it as she flopped down to the bed and lay there panting, her whole body aching and tired.

"You did well Honey" her mom smiled down at her and stroked a hair off her daughter's sweaty forehead.

"Would you like to see him?" the doctor's voice asked next to her, and as Yumi turned her head to look at her child she found herself looking straight into the barrel of the Kankrelat's laser just as it powered up and fired-

"No!" Yumi shouted and bolted straight up from her bed, her heart pounding hard in her chest as she sat in her dark room with her sheets clutched tightly to her chest, her chest heaving as she gasped for air, her whole body cold from the sweat that covered it.

"Not again…." She muttered as she sat on her bed with the sheets clutched against her chest and waited for her heartbeat to calm down.

It had been three days since she'd found out that she was pregnant, and for the last two nights she'd been plagued by the same dream.

She sighed and stared over to her window where the light of the full moon softly shined down from up high, the stars still twinkling visible in the slightly gray sky that signalled that dawn of a new day was slowly getting closer.

But to Yumi, it just signalled that the same old day was about to begin again, where her Dad was still furious about her condition, and continued to blame Ulrich even though the doctor had shown him it couldn't be possible, her mom going out of her way to be cheerful and helpful to her as possible and her brother confused as to what's going on since no ones told him anything.

As for her friends, Jeremie was still working on the data, his nose glued to his computer screen meaning he kept on forgetting to call or visit her while Ulrich and Aelita would be a no show since her Dad would kill the one and Yumi was sure she'd do the same to the other.

Only Odd would show up today as he'd done for the last few days with news and gossip from school and maybe even a dessert he would've snuck out from the cafeteria.

"So, uhm… when are you coming back to school?" he'd asked last time he'd visited, to which Yumi had replied off-handedly "Don't know. When my parents think its ok probably", which wasn't the truth at all.

In fact, her mom had asked her on the second day if she didn't want to go back to school.

The thing was, Yumi wasn't sure if she ever wanted to go back to school, since going to school would mean she'd have to face Ulrich and Aelita, and she wasn't sure how she'd react.

Or how they would.

For all she knew the reason Ulrich hadn't made an effort to sneak a visit to her room was because he was avoiding her, or rather her and her… condition.

Of course Aelita avoiding her wouldn't worry her one bit.

But Ulrich…..

Yumi felt her heart go heavy as she thought of him leaving her, and then shook her head.

No, thinking and worrying like this was going to help her to solve this mystery.

There was only one way she was going to clear this up.

Tomorrow, she was going back to school.

**How will Ulrich react when he and Yumi meet up tomorrow?**

**What will Aelita do when she sees her?**

**And how long will Yumi's pregnancy remain secret from the rest of Kadic?**

**Found out next time in Chapter 3….**


	4. Chapter 2 cont

**Yeah! Time to update!**

**Edit: Just edited the story layout, & added a bit more drama to the lunch scene**

**An Unexpected Development part 2 continued**

"Ok, that's it, I give up" The guy with the shaggy brown hair said as he leaned back into Jeremie's chair in front of the Super Computer and took off his glasses and then rubbed his sore eyes.  
"This is just too frickin' hard!"  
"What, are you telling me that the great Capt. Crunch, who hacked the IRS database in ten seconds flat, has been outwitted by a kid?" The large burly man in black smirked as he loomed over the left side of the chair.  
"Oh, this is no kid" the so called Capt. Crunch said as he slipped his glasses back on.  
"Every attempt I've made at trying to get into this computer's main files has left me shut out, blocked out and generally denied any and all access" The hacker said, and then to the agent's surprised started to smile.  
"Boy, what I wouldn't give to meet this kid…"  
"Now wait just a minute" The agent said, " Are you telling me we've wasted all this time and effort of getting you out of jail and in here just to find out you can't hack into this computer at all?!"  
"Oh no, I can hack it… give or take ten years or so" The hacker grinned.  
"Uh, but if you want" he said as he saw the look on the agent's face, "I could always install this handle little gadget, and through that hopefully we should be able to tap into his system, undetected, whenever he's busy on it" Capt. Crunch said as he reached down in the bag lying next to the chair and pulled out a small plastic capsule with a little red light blinking inside of it.  
"I hope you're right" the agent said as he watched the hacker crouch down and fiddle around in the bunch of wires hanging down below the computer, and then he touched the mike in his ear.  
"Hmm, and we might be testing you're little toy sooner then later. I've got confirmation that the girl's just left the house"

"Now remember Yumi, if at anytime you don't feel you want to stay you can just call me and I'll come pick you right up-"  
"Yes Mom, I know" Yumi groaned as she and her Mom drove towards the school, her heart hammering in her chest as she got closer and closer to Kadic.  
'Maybe I should go back home' she thought.  
'Maybe- maybe I'm just not ready to face Aelita and Ulrich…. No' she shook her head, 'No, I've got too do this, if only to get away from Mom for awhile'  
"Oh yes" her Mom's voice interrupted her voice, "and if anything should happen, or if you don't feel well, you can go to Yolande.  
I've already told her everything, and she said she'll ready-"  
"You told Yolande?!" Yumi gasped as she stared at her mom in disbelief.  
Leave it to her mom to keep it a secret.  
"Well yes, I had to-"  
"But what if she tells everyone else, or what if someone hears her and then tells everyone else?" Yumi said worriedly as she imagined all the kids and teachers staring at her, feeling sorry for her or wondering just what she must've done to land in this situation.  
"Don't worry Honey" Yumi's Mom said as she reached over and gentle patted Yumi's shoulder. "She promised she wouldn't breathe a word of it to anyone, and believe me, I know how well she can keep a secret"  
Yumi glanced over at her mom as she heard the change of tone in her voice when she said the last bit, and wondered just what her Mom meant by that.  
"All right, here we are" Her Mom said as she pulled up to the curb just outside the school gates which was already starting to fill up with students busy trickling in.  
Yumi swallowed hard as she stared up the path to the school, and then reached back into backseats, grabbed her bags, and started to climb out when her Mom grabbed her hand and said:  
"Yumi?"  
"Yeah Mom?"  
"Have a good day Honey"  
"I hope so, Mom" Yumi smiled, and hoped her Mom hadn't heard the worry in her voice as she made her way up towards the school with her heart in throat.

"So, how's Yumi doing, Odd?"  
"The same as yesterday and the day before" Odd said as he sat down next to Aelita and Jeremie on the bench under the tree just next to the vending machine and took a sip of hot chocolate in his cup while Ulrich stood next to them and leaned against the tree.  
"Bored and worried. She really needs some cheering up, like maybe from a visit from all of her friends?" he said as he shot a look at them.  
"I mean, I know you've been way busy trying to figure out how to help her Jer, and I know she might kill you on sight Aelita, but what's been keeping you from doing a climb-up-the-drain, in-through-window-at-night visit, Ulrich?" he asked as he glanced over at him.  
"It's… complicated Odd, Ok?" Ulrich said.  
"You mean you're worried her dad will skin you and turn you into a rug for his living room?" Odd teased.  
"That's one of my worries…" Ulrich muttered.  
"Oh come on, that's never stopped you before"  
"I wish I could go and visit Yumi" Aelita said sadly as she stared at the ground and occasionally kicked at the dirt underneath her booted feet.  
"I wish she was here…"  
"Uh, I think you're wish has been granted" Odd said, and as Aelita looked up and gasped as she saw Yumi walking towards them.  
"Yumi!" she smiled, and then jumped up and ran to meet the girl.  
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you-" she said as she hugged her, and then quickly jumped back with a worried look on her face.  
"Oh, uh, sorry Yumi. I- I know you must still hate me, so if you don't want me be here I could just go-"  
Yumi stared at her for a bit and then smiled as she reached out and hugged Aelita back.  
"It's Ok, Aelita" she said as they pulled apart and started to walk over to the guys.  
"Right now I'm too worried about what to do about this then too keep staying mad at you. And beside, I can't keep blaming you forever, especially since I know you didn't do it on purpose"  
"Thanks Yumi" Aelita said as they reached the guys, and then frowned as she saw Ulrich turn around and leave.  
"Ulrich? Where you going?" she asked as she steered Yumi down to sit on the bench.  
"Uhm… I-I forgot something in my room" he said, and then ran off before anyone could do or say anything else.  
"Ulrich-!" Odd started to say when Yumi touched his arm and shook her head.  
"Leave it Odd, I'll talk to him later" she said, and her friends couldn't help but hear the slightly hurt tone in her voice.  
"So, anything new while I've been gone?" she asked as she leaned back against the bench and put her bag down on the ground.  
"Oh, nothing much" Odd said as he grinned at her while Aelita leaned over the backrest of the bench and smiled.  
"Sissi's got herself a new CD which you can hear all the way to the Cafeteria, Jim's still being a pain now and again, and well, that's about"  
"Ah, same old Kadic" Yumi grinned.  
"How about you, Jer? Any new developments on my… condition?"  
"Almost" Jeremie said as he patted his bag, the edge of his laptop just peeking out from the flap.  
"I've been working non-stop in trying to unlock the digital code of your 'problem', and I'm sure by tomorrow I'll have cracked it"  
"I hope so Jeremie, I really do" Yumi sighed.  
"Man, I can't wait to be rid of this pregnancy"  
"Yeah, especially before it can make you look like a blimp!" Odd joked, and as the gang all groaned and smirked at his joked none of them noticed Milly and Tamiya silently slinking away from them.

For the rest of the day up to lunch, Yumi's day didn't go too bad.  
The classes where the same as always, William was glad (And how) that she was back (she didn't even mind him bugging her about where she'd been), and for awhile she forgot about her pregnancy.  
However, as lunch slowly got closer and closer, Yumi started noticing more and more kids and teachers giving her odd looks, or stepping out of her way whenever she stepped close to them.  
"What the heck's going on?" she thought as she stepped into the cafeteria, and then stopped as every kid inside stopped eating and talking and just stared at her.  
She spotted Odd and Aelita at a table, looking extremely worried, but before she could move Sissi suddenly blocked her way and asked in a demanding voice:  
"Is it true? Are you pregnant?"  
"What?" Yumi asked, shocked, and watched as Sissi unfurled the school newspaper she had had in curled up in her hand and held it  
"What- How-?" Yumi gasped as she read the headline:

**Yumi Ishiyama- Pregnant!**  
By Milly & Tamiya

_This morning Kadic's star reporters stumbled on this fact when they overheard Yumi Ishiyama and her friends discussing it-_

But before Yumi could read further Sissi pulled it away and growled:  
"Well, is it true or not?"  
"I- I-" Yumi stuttered and took a step back as Sissi poked her in chest.  
"So it is true! Little Miss Innocent Ishiyama got knocked up! So who's the dad- Oh, it isn't Ulrich is it?!"  
"What? No!" Yumi said as her cheeks burned red.  
"Oh no, don't tell me it's William's!"  
"No!"  
"Well then who is it-?" Sissi started to ask, but Yumi turned her back to the snobby girl as she turned to run out of the door but found herself trapped as Will suddenly came barging in.  
"Is it true?" he asked in disbelief.  
"Oh man, it is, isn't it?!" he said as he saw the look on her face.  
"It's Ulrich's isn't it?"  
"Nope" Sissi said before Yumi could reply, "And it's also not yours. So then whose is it-?"  
"Ok Sissi, that's enough" Odd said as he and Aelita came to Yumi's rescue.  
"Just back off already"  
"Why?" Sissi asked with a toss of her head.  
"We've a right to know. Or maybe it's because you're the dad. It wouldn't surprise me at all-"  
Slap  
"Why don't you just shut up for a change?" Aelita said as she took Yumi's arm and walked out of the cafeteria past the stunned William with her and Odd as Sissi just stood there and stared in shock at her as she rubbed her red cheek where Aelita had slapped her.

After the disastrous lunch Yumi felt herself sinking deeper and deeper into despair as she headed to her next class and sat down for the test awaiting her.  
William was waiting for her at the door, but she just brushed past him and headed to her seat with her head down.  
She tried to concentrate on the test, but all she could hear was the whispers of kids around her, talking and gossiping about her, all she could feel was their eyes staring at her, trying to sneak in a glance or two of the poor pregnant girl.  
"no more" she muttered under her breath.  
"I'm sorry, did you say something Miss Ishiyama?" the teacher asked.  
"No more! I've had enough of this!" Yumi snapped to everyone's shock, and then stood up and ran out of the classroom, her head pounding as she tried to fight back the tears welling up in her eyes, and then she stopped and stared into space as a new thought popped into her head, and with a small smile she ran to the stairs and headed to the dorms.

"Yumi's gone!" Aelita said as she and Odd ran into Jeremie's room.  
"It gets worse" Jeremie said as he stood up from the floor and turned to them with a large book in his hands with several pages gone from it.  
"She's ripped out the part where I've been working on an improved Return Trip Program that would turn back time not by a day but days, even weeks"  
"So she's going too turn back time until she's not pregnant anymore" Odd said,  
"Wouldn't that just solve everything?"  
"No" Jeremie said, "Because if she does try and use this program, the Super Computer could critically overload and explode!"  
"Oh, uh, then I guess we really should be go and stop her, right?"  
"Right"  
"Uhm, shouldn't one of us go and get Ulrich?" Aelita asked.  
"Mr 'I don't care'? I don't think so" Odd said, and without a further word they took off to the factory.

With a soft whoosh the lift's doors opened, and as all Odd, Aelita and Jeremie stepped out they saw Yumi at the super computer with a smile on her face and a glassy look in her eyes, her cheeks still wet from the tears she'd cried.  
"It's too late" Yumi said as she stood next to the super computer.  
"I've already typed in the program. Now all I've got too do is press enter, and then all this will be gone for good"  
"No Yumi, there's got to be another way-"  
"No" Yumi said as she shook her head, fresh tears glistening in her eyes as she glared down at the keyboard.  
"No more stares, no more whispers, no more Dad shouting, Mom being overprotective, Ulrich scared to death… and no more fear and worrying and nightmares about what's inside of me. I.. I just can't take it anymore" she said and then reached down to the computer.  
"Yumi no-!" Aelita shouted and tried to tackle Yumi away from the computer, but it was too late as Yumi's finger stabbed down into the keyboard, and with a roar activated the Return Trip Program.

"No!" Aelita shouted as the field of white disappeared and she found herself standing in the Super Computer room with Odd and Ulrich standing next to her and Jeremie sitting in his chair.  
"Jeremie, did she- How far back are we?"  
"Uh, hang on.." Jeremie said as he quickly called up the program and then sighed in relief.  
"It's ok, we've only gone back two days. Luckily she didn't manage to-"  
But Aelita wasn't listening anymore as she spun around and quickly ran to the elevator and headed up to the top.  
The minute the doors opened she rushed up to the Factory's entrance, and once there she just ran and ran down the street, never stopping, not even when her legs ached and her lungs burned, not even when a car almost ran her over, not until she reached Yumi's house and then barging past Yumi's shocked mom when she opened the door, and then raced up the stairs until she reached Yumi's bedroom and swung open the door to find the dark haired girl kneeling on the floor at the end of her bed with her head bent down and her shoulders shaking as a few teardrops dripped down to the floor from her cheeks.  
"Yumi?"  
"…It didn't work" Yumi said as she turned her tear streaked face up to Aelita.  
"I can still feel it inside of me" she said as Aelita walked up to her and knelt down in front of her, and then Yumi just grabbed her and hugged her close as she just cried and cried and cried.

**Continued in Part 3 : Discovery**

**Heh, in case you're wondering why I called the hacker Capt. Crunch, it was just a small salute to the hacker mentioned in the Cowboy Bebop Movie: Stairway to Heaven. **

**And in the next part to come, prepare to find out why everyone's making such a fuss about this kid. **

**It's going to be a chapter you don't want to miss.**


	5. Chapter 3 Truths

Wow, I can't believe how long this story has been delayed, and all due to this one chapter.

I tell you, this part below had me re-editing over and over, and I'm still not satisfied.

Anyhow, I'll leave it as it is, and hope you'll enjoy.

**Code Lyoko:**

**An Unexpected Development part 3: Truths...**

The rays of the new dawn crept in through the window of the bedroom and sneaked about until they found the sleeping girl's face, the touch of the warm sunshine making her groan as she slowly wakes up, and then makes her moan as the dazzling bright rays poke her in the eyes. Mumbling, grumbling, Aelita turned her head away and then flinched as a sharp pain stabbed through her neck and back.

"Ow! What the-?" she muttered as she blearily opened her eyes, and then blinked in surprise as she stared at the strange walls opposite of her, the color and the closet standing against it giving her strong clues that this wasn't her dorm room at Kadic.

"Where am I?" she wonders as she slowly raised her aching neck, and then stops as her eyes looks down at the her hand laying on the bed... and the hand her hand's holding.

Slowly, her eyes follows the arm attached to the hand until she reached the face of it's owner and finds herself looking at the sleeping face of Yumi.

For a moment all she can do is stare in bewilderment at her friend as she tries to figure out what's going on, and then just like that, the memory of yesterday's events came flooding back:

of how Yumi's pregnancy had been revealed, of how she had broken down from all the questions and accusations everyone had thrown at her, and of how in desperation she had tried to get rid of her child, and almost took half of the city with her.

And of how she'd wept in Aelita's arms.

It still felt so unreal to Aelita, as she sat there and gazed sadly at her friend's still tear stained face, to have seen Yumi, who had always looked so strong, so confident, look so broken and shattered when she'd held the dark haired girl in her arms while Yumi cried her heart out until the poor dead tired girl had fallen asleep in her embrace, her head resting against Aelita's shoulder.

'Luckily Yumi's mom was there' Aelita thought to herself as she brushed a stray hair away off Yumi's forehead. 'Otherwise I'd never have been able to get her into her bed'

As she brushed back the stray hair again, she felt the little worm of guilt inside of her grow as it nibbled yet again at her conscience.

After all, Yumi wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place if it hadn't been for Aelita.

'And even though Yumi did forgive me' Aelita thought as she brushed the pesky stray hair away again, 'I still feel so responsible for her.

Because even though Yumi had forgiven her, Aelita still felt so responsible for her, and yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn't think of anyway she could help her friend out, short of helping her get rid of the baby.

"And that's one thing I just can't do" Aelita thought as she brushed the pesky hair away yet again from Yumi's forehead, and then placed her over hand softly on Yumi's stomach.

Again that little worm of guilt chewed on her as she thought on the secret she'd been keeping from Jeremie and the gang, of the fact that she could sense the little life growing in Yumi's belly, a solid, almost tangible connection she had been aware of ever since they found out about Yumi's pregnancy.

At first the attraction she'd felt whenever Yumi had been near her had confused her, but as the feeling grew by the day she soon realized it was the baby she felt, like a soft warm glow in her chest that made her feel all fuzzy and happy.

So lost in her thoughts was Aelita that she jumped in fright when someone coughed behind her.

Startled, she suddenly realized that all this time she'd been softly stroking Yumi's cheek.

And with a quick glance behind her made her cheeks turn red as she saw Yumi's mom standing in the door way.

"Oh God, could this get any worse?" Aelita thought, and then stiffened as Yumi moved in her sleep and rubbed her cheek against Aelita's hand before giving a soft happy sigh and going back to sleep with a small smile on her face.

Aelita waited a few seconds before she slowly got up and made her way to Yumi's door with her cheeks burning red hot, especially as she could just imagine Mrs. Ishiyama must've thought of that little scene.

"Good morn-" Aelita started to say as she closed the door to Yumi's bedroom behind her, but was cut off by Mrs. Ishiyama who held up a finger to her lips and then pointed downstairs.

Seconds later Aelita was sitting at the kitchen table while Mrs. Ishiyama boiled some water in a kettle.

"Tea?"

"Oh, yes please" Aelita said, and then watched as Mrs. Ishiyama brought to cups over to the table and then a small wooden rack with an assortment of teabags sitting in it, the colorful labels on each one giving her their name, brand and flavor.

"By the way, one of your friends came around early this morning to see if you were up, but you were still so out of it that we decided to leave you to sleep. You did stay up till late last night"

"But what about school? Won't I get into trouble?" Aelita asked worriedly as she some hot water into her cup"

"Not too worry, your friend, Odd I think, said he'd cover for you"

"Whew" Aelita sighed in relief, and then her cheeks started to turn red again as she said:

"Uh, er, about what you saw upstairs-"

"Oh, it's nothing, Yumi always moves around in her sleep" Mrs. Ishiyama said as she blew on her steaming cup of tea.

"However, if you really want something strange, then you can just think of Yumi, and how she got pregnant since she's still a virgin, which is something her doctor would really like to know. And to be honest with you Aelita, I'm pretty sure that you would probably know the answer to that question. In fact, I think you know exactly how it happened, don't you"

For the next few minutes the two of them sat in an awkward silence, Aelita staring at the steaming cup in her hands while Mrs. Ishiyama found hers just as interesting.

"Uhm, well I.. I guess I should be going-"

"No, wait, please" Mrs. Ishiyama said as Aelita started to get up from her chair.

"I'm sorry Aelita, I've got such a lot on my mind, like trying to come up with a way to keep the peace in the house, especially between Yumi and her dad. Not that Yumi's attitude is helping the situation much.

I mean, I'm trying my best to help her, but it.. it seems like she keeps on pushing me away"

"Um, don't take this wrong Mrs. Ishiyama, but you haven't been over protective, have you?

"Mmm, yes, maybe a litte, but then, I can't help it. You see, I know exactly what Yumi's going through"

'I wouldn't be so sure of that' Aelita thought, and said "Because you're her mom?"

"No" Mrs. Ishiyama said with a sad smile.

"Tell me Aelita, how old would you say I am?"

Puzzled by this change in the conversation, Aelita took a long and careful look at Yumi's mom, taking in her tired eyes and slight wrinkles before guessing.

"About 38?"

Mrs. Ishiyama gave a small laugh and took another sip from her cup.

"Oh, thanks Aelita, but no, I'm only 30 years old"

"Thirty?" Aelita said in shock as her head did the quick maths.

"But that would mean-"

"That's right" Mrs. Ishiyama said, again giving Aelita that sad smile.

"I had Yumi when I was 16 years old"

Aelita just sat there, stunned, and listened to Mrs. Ishiyama's story:

"It happened when I was in high school. I met Yumi's dad Takeo, and it was practically love at first sight. He soon got up the courage to ask me out, and we went out on quite a few dates. And we never did anything more then kiss.

And then, one night, we went to a friend's party, and well, got a little- no, got very drunk, and then woke up the next morning in bed together. And we knew.

And then our families knew as well, especially a few weeks later when I found out I was pregnant.

Oh, my father acted just like Yumi's, ranting, cursing, swearing vengeance, which Takeo's father was doing too. I.. I was so ashamed of myself, and of the shame I'd brought on my family that I even..."

Yumi's mom stopped and gave Aelita a brief knowing, guilty look before continuing.

"Well, both our families thought it would've been for the best that I got an abortion, and who could argue? I mean, we were still just kids, not even out of high school.

But Takeo wouldn't hear anything of it. He stood up to his father and mine, and swore he'd take care of us and the child. Luckily this all took place in the last few weeks of the school term, so as soon as we both graduated he went out and got a job. Then, a few weeks later, he got us a flat to live in, and as soon as we'd moved in he went down on one knee, proposed to me, and a week later we got married. A few months later, and Yumi was born" Mrs. Ishiyama said with a smile.

"Does Yumi know this story?" Aelita asked.

"Except for the bit about me being 16, yes" Yumi's mom said as she finished off her tea.

"Mmm" Aelita said as she swallowed the last of her tea as well.

"Yumi's very lucky to have a mom like you, Mrs. Ishiyama"

'At least know I know why she's been so super worried about Yumi' Aelita thought, and then like a bolt from beyond she suddenly had the answer to her dilemma.

She finally knew just what she could do to help Yumi out.

"Well, thanks a lot for the tea, Mrs. Ishiyama. I've got to go... sort some stuff out at school. When Yumi wakes up, please let her know I'll be back later"

"I will" Yumi's mom said as she stood up.

"And Aelita?"

"Yes?" Aelita asked as she turned around at the kitchen door.

"Thanks"

Aelita smiled in reply, and then made her way to and out the door.

And as Aelita rushed down the street, her busy thoughts kept her attention so occupied that she didn't even see the brown haired guy with the red jacket walking up the street until she bumped into him.

"Oops, sorry" she apologized quickly, and then rushed on towards Kadic High, her mind so set on her mission that she completely missed the strange flicker in the guy's eyes.

**Continues next...**

And yes, before anyone asks, the guy with the red jacket is in fact the same guy from the episode Valentine's Day, carrying out Xana's orders yet again.

But what exactly is his orders? You'll find next update this Friday.


	6. Chapter 3 Truths pt2

Hey everyone, thanks for the comments

And to answer some:

Daydreamer9 : No worries, Aelita knows what she's doing

BenRG: Thanks for the good score. As for the spacing of the storie, I've been trying to change it but Fanfiction keeps posting it like you see it. I've tried it differently here, hope it's better. And yes, the story didn't have that much, but the info was necessary. Don't worry though, the action starts up here...

Ranma girl 14: heh, don't worry, I think Mrs. Ishiyama could handle it. She's one tough, and smart, lady. As to what the Xana-pawn's up to, read on...

**Unexpected Development part 3: Truths... (continued)**

**Ding Dong **

"Hmm?" Mrs. Ishiyama frowned as she looked up from her book and looked towards the front door. "Now who could that be?" she wondered as she got up from her chair and walked towards the door, took a quite look outside through the peephole, and then opened the door. "Yes, can I help you?" she asked the young man in the red jacket standing outside of the house's gate.

"Good morning ma'am" the guy smiled. "Is this the Ishiyama residence?"

"Mmm.." Yumi groaned as she slowly woke up, yawned, glanced over at her clock, and then blinked in shock as she saw how late it was. 'It's almost noon and I'm still in bed?' she frowned as she started to sit up. 'Why didn't Mom wake me up for school- aah!" she flinched as her shoulders throbbed with a dull ache. "What the-?" she muttered as she gingerly touched her shoulders and found them to be extremely tight, like on some nights when she had been stressed out with exams. "But what could've caused it..." she started to wonder, and then with a flash everything from the previous few days came back to her, and with a groan as she flopped back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling as the memories played out in her mind.

"So it wasn't just a nightmare" she said as she blinked her eyes against the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes, and then sat up and quickly wiped away her tears when someone came walking up the stairs, knocked on her door. "Oh, hey sleepyhead, glad to see you're awake" Mrs.Ishiyama said as she opened the door and walked into the room with a small brown package under her one arm. 'Ugh, here we go again with the massive dose of sympathy' Yumi sighed and then forced herself to smile up at her mom as she sat down next to her and took her hand before asking: "How are you feeling, honey?" "Still a bit tired, a little sore, and a lot hungry" Yumi smiled. "But nothing a good bath and some breakfast can't cure" she said and waited for her mom to tell her: "Oh no, you stay right in bed! You're much too weak right now to do anything but rest!" But instead her mom smiled and said:

"Well, you go and take a bath when you feel like it dear. As to breakfast, you'll have to wait a bit while I make it, but how about some tea? I think the water in the kettle's still hot enough from when Aelita and I had tea this morning" "Uh, sure, thanks Mom" Yumi said, stunned at the change in her Mom's usual parental routine. And then her ears caught up with what her Mom had said, and she blinked in surprise. "Wait, did you say Aelita was here?" "Yes, that's right?" her mom nodded. "In fact, she spent the whole night right here by your side" "Here?" Yumi asked, shocked. "Yes. you she, after you'd fallen asleep, she stayed by your side all through the evening. I don't think she had planned to stay the night here as well, but after she fell asleep next to you, I just didn't want to risk waking you up while waking her up" Yumi just stared at her mom in surprise, and then a memory came floating back, and she remembered having woken up during the night to see Aelita sleeping with her arms and head resting on Yumi's bed, while her one hand was gently wrapped around Yumi's. But she had thought that was just a dream... "Oh, that reminds me" Mrs. Ishiyama said as she broke Yumi's reverie. "A delivery guy was just here with this package for you" she said as she placed the slightly heavy parcel in Yumi's lap.

"I think it's from your friend Jeremie. At least, that's what the sender's signature said" "Hmm, I wonder what it is?" Yumi said as she lifted up the hand sized parcel and gave it a small shake. "Why don't you unwrap it and find out, and I'll go make the tea" her mom said, and gave her daughter's hand a squeeze before she got up and left the room. "Mmm.." Yumi smiled to herself as she thought about what great friends she had. and then proceeded to unwrap the package until she found herself holding a brand new, silver colored PDA in her hands. "Huh? Now why would he have sent me this?" she started to wonder when the PDA lit up. "What?" she gasped, and then felt her body go cold as Xana's Eye appeared and filled up the screen.

"Whew, made it just in time" Aelita sighed in relief as she reached the gates of Kadic High and saw on her watch that lunchtime had just started, which was an extremely good thing since she'd need the cover of all those coming and going to the cafeteria if she had a hope of sneaking into the dorms without Jim spotting her. Of course, she couldn't discount the chance that Sissi might spot and snitch her out, but she would just have to hope the little snotty diva wouldn't be around. Because knowing the two people she was looking for, both of them would be in their rooms at the moment, the one sulking and the other working in front of a computer. And they both were about to have their break spoiled, as Aelita was in a very serious mood to talk to Ulrich and Jeremie, whether they liked it or not.

HELLO YUMI "What?" Yumi frowned as she read the screen of the PDA. "What do you want, Xana?"

TO HELP

"Yeah right" Yumi said sarcastically. As if she'd ever trust the evil virus to tell her the truth.

I DO, REALLY

"And why would you want to help me?" she asked. "After all, it's not like you like me, or my friends very much. So why offer me help now?"

BECAUSE OF THE CHILD

"My baby? What risk could my baby be for you?"

THE CHILD IS DANGEROUS, UNSTABLE. NOT EVEN I KNOW WHAT IT WILL BE BORN AS. BUT IF YOU DO LET IT BE BORN, IT WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING. YOU, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR FRIENDS. EVERYTHING.

"You- you're lying" Yumi said as she stared in shock at the screen.

NO, BUT YOUR FRIENDS DO.

"What do you mean?"

JEREMIE KNOWS WHAT I KNOW. AS DOES ODD, AS DOES AELITA. AS DOES ULRICH. AS DOES YOUR MOTHER.

"And how would she know?"

JEREMIE TOLD HER.

"Hah! Now I know you're lying" Yumi smirked as she read the last line. "There's no way Jeremie would be able to tell my mom without having to tell her about Lyoko, and he's to protective of Aelita to ever do that"

VOICE SYNTHESIZER

"Huh?" Yumi frowned, puzzled by what Xana meant, and then she got it.

"You mean, he phoned my mom, and then used his voice changing programming to sound like my doctor?"

YES.

"Wait a minute, how can I even believe any of this?" Yumi said as she glared down at the PDA. "I do I know you're not just making all of this up? I mean, you aren't exactly known for being a good guy and all"

BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT THE WORLD TO BE DESTROYED.

"Otherwise you wouldn't be able to take over it?" Yumi said sarcastically.

YES the answer came and threw her for a loop. It was such a straight and honest answer that Yumi wondered if just, maybe just, Xana was actually as truthfully about the rest.

IF YOU STILL DO NOT BELIEVE ME, I HAVE PROOF

IF YOU WISH TO SEE THAT ALL I HAVE SAID IS TRUE, THEN COME TO THE FACTORY.

I PROMISE YOU NO HARM WILL COME TO YOU the screen read, and then with a beep went black. Yumi stared at the screen as her thoughts raced at breakneck speed around inside her head, her mind bubbling with uncertainty as to what she should do. Should she dare trust Xana? Or should she first try and ask Jeremie himself? But what if he was lying to her, like Xana said? No, there was only one was she would find out for sure.

As silently as possible, Aelita crept up the steps that led to the boys dorms and made her way until she reached Odd and Ulrich's room, and then, without even knocking, she twisted the doorknob, marched into the room and growled: "Ulrich, we need to talk!"

Yumi's whole body felt stiff with fear and doubt as she walked across the stony bridge that led to the Factory, and wondered for the umpteenth time if she was making the right choice, although having come this far it would be pointless to leave without taking maybe just the tiniest look, just if it would help to settle the worries in her head.

She stepped into the gloom filled interior and quickly slid down one of the ropes hanging from the ceiling until she reached the floor, and then walked into the elevator, pressed the down button, waited for the lift to reach its destination and then finally walked out into the Control Room.

'Ok, now what?' Yumi thought as she reached the Super Computer and sat down in the chair that Jeremie usually occupied, and then lifted up the PDA as it beeped.

ARE YOU AT THE COMPUTER?

"Yes" Yumi said as she switched on the screens. "But how am I suppose to know where the files are?"

DO NOT WORRY, I WILL HELP YOU.

UNDER MAIN FILES, LOOK FOR **PERSONAL FILES**

"Uhh, ok yeah I see it" Yumi said as she double clicked the folder. "Now what?"

FIND FILE **LATEST DATA**

"I gotta say, the fact that you know so much about these files doesn't exactly inspire much confidence" Yumi said as she scanned the screen for the right folder. "To me it means you might been in here before, and maybe even tampered with the files themselves"

IMPOSSIBLE

"And why is that?" she asked as she found the file and double clicked on it.

BECAUSE JEREMIE KEEPS ALL HIS MOST IMPORTANT FILES UNDER PASSWORD PROTECTION Xana said as the computer beep at Yumi and threw up a window that read:

**Please Enter Password**

"Now you tell me" Yumi said. "Uh, so what's the password"

I DO NOT KNOW. SINCE MY ESCAPE, JEREMIE HAS INCORPORATED INTENSLY POWERFULL PROGRAMS AND FIREWALLS TO KEEP ME OUT OF THE SUPER COMPUTER. I HAVE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO MONITER HIS FILES AS HE WORKED ON THEM.

"Go Jeremie" Yumi half smiled, and then turned her mind towards the problem. 'Password... password... what would Jeremie use? Something hard most likely, the little Einstein. Unless.. nah, he wouldn't. Would he?' she thought, and then typed in:

**Aelita**

**Password Accepted** the computer beeped, and opened the file.

"And I thought you were smart, Jeremie" Yumi muttered as she shook her head at the weak attempted at a password. And then her eyes grew wide, and then wider as she read the data in front of her.

AS YOU CAN SEE, YOUR FRIENDS HAVE NOT BEEN VERY FRIEND-LIKE TO YOU

Yumi stayed silent as she read and re-read the information, which showed how long she'd have to live, how long till the birth, and even had a rough picture of what the beast inside her would look like, which was so horrible that Yumi felt her stomach clench and threaten to heave. "This.. this can't be true" Yumi said, although a part of her was growing more and more convinced it was.

IT IS.

THIS IS WHY YOUR FRIENDS HAVE BEEN ACTING THE WAY THEY HAVE TO YOU.

THIS IS WHY YOUR MOTHER HAS BEEN SMOTHERING YOU LIKE THIS.

AND THIS IS WHY ULRICH HAS BEEN AVOIDING YOU.

HE CAN'T STAND KNOWING YOU WILL DIE WHEN YOU GIVE BIRTH.

Yumi just nodded as her thoughts whirled about inside her head. Xana had been telling the truth.

All this did explain why Jeremie's been so quiet about his findings from the scans he took of her.

Why her Mother had been so super over-the-top caring.

And why Ulrich was being so distant from her...

**Beep!** the PDA startled her out of her thoughts, and she brought the small mini computer up to her face to read the message on the screen:

NOW THAT YOU'VE SEEN THE TRUTH, WILL YOU ALLOW ME TO HELP?

Yumi needed only a second to consider before she said: "Ok Xana, what do you want me to do?"

**End part 2**

**Heh, sorry for the suspense, but I'll have the next and final bit of this chapter up on Monday.**

**And believe me, you don't want to miss it! Till then...**


	7. Chapter 3 Truths pt3

Woah, I've been way to busy off late, but finally, some free time came my way, and now I can update this story with 4 new chapters. And so, let's get back to the action in:

**Unexpected Development chapter 3: Truths... Continued (pt 3)**

"Hey, haven't you heard of knocking?" Ulrich said as he glared up at Aelita, his arms folded underneath his head as he lay flat on his back on his bed.  
"Talk about being rude..."  
"Well you'd be the expert on that, wouldn't you?" Aelita said as she returned Ulrich's glare and crossed her arms across her chest.  
"What's that suppose to mean?" Ulrich asked.  
"Oh, you know exactly what I mean" Aelita growled.  
"Or do you think no one's noticed how you've been going out of your way to avoid Yumi?"  
"Well?" she snapped as Ulrich just lay there in silence.  
"It's... it's complicated, ok?" he said as he turned over to his side.  
"Just drop it"  
"No! I won't!" Aelita said as she grabbed Ulrich's shoulder and twisted him back around to face her.  
"Not until you give me a straight answer"  
For a moment Aelita thought she'd gone to far as Ulrich gave her a dark look and trembled underneath her hand with anger, and then with a sigh he seemed to sag into himself and said:  
"I'm.. I'm afraid, ok? There, happy now?"  
"Afraid?" Aelita blinked in surprise. "Of what?"  
"Of all this- this responsibility hanging over me" Ulrich said as he sat up on his bed and stared down at the floor. "I mean, Yumi's dad's holding me responsible for Yumi being pregnant, no matter what the doctor says, and Hiroki told me he wants me to marry her. And Yumi will want me to help with caring for the baby, right? But I'm still just a kid! I'm not ready to be a dad! And how are we suppose to care for it? We've got no money. And of course, just wait until my parents find out about this- Ugh! and to top it off, all this stress has been giving me migraines" Ulrich groaned as he slumped back down on his bed and rubbed his forehead.  
"Hey, that's no excuse Ulrich, Yumi's been going through the same worries as you, and more" Aelita said as she sat down next to him, "Did you ever think of that? Or that maybe the two of you could work something out if you just sat down and talked?"  
"Yeah, and what? Tell her I get so worried about this whole pregnancy that I want to go jump off a tall building? I'm sure she'd be happy to hear that"  
"Hey, you'll never know until you try" Aelita said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"And believe me, you are going to talk to her, tonight, or else Odd and I will personally drag you to her"  
"Hah! Only if you can catch me" Ulrich said with a smile, and then blushed slightly as he asked:  
"So, uh, how is Yumi?"  
"Not so good" Aelita said as she stood up.  
"Remember that Return Trip yesterday?"  
"Yeah. Kind of hurt me, you guys fighting Xana without me"  
"Oh, it wasn't Xana, it was Yumi trying to get rid of her baby, and almost destroying the whole city doing it"  
"What?!" Ulrich gasped as he stared up at Aelita in shock.  
"And that's why you've got to go and talk to her Ulrich" Aelita said as she stood up from his bed. "You're part of all the stress she's going through. So please, go and see her tonight, okay?" she said as she walked over to the door. "Okay" Ulrich said, and with that Aelita walked out of the room and headed for the other part of Yumi's stress - Jeremie.

Meanwhile, at the factory...  
"Inputting co-ordinates and.. done" Yumi said as she finished typing in the last few steps into the transfer program, which beeped, and showed her where she was going: The Ice Sector.  
"Ok, I'm ready to be virtualised" she said as she opened up the transfer program's timer function.  
"But once I'm on Lyoko, then what?" she asked as she glanced down at the PDA in her lap.  
I WILL SEND AN ESCORT TO TAKE YOU TO THE SCYPHOZOA Xana said.  
ONCE THERE, LET IT EMBRACE YOU, AND IT WILL ABSORB AND ERASE CORRUPT DATA THAT IS THE CHILD WITHIN YOU.  
"Sounds simple enough" Yumi said as she set up the timer.  
YES, THOUGH I WILL LOSE SCYPHOZOA DUE TO THE CORRUPT DATA, BUT IT WILL BE FOR A WORTHY CAUSE IF THE WORLD IS SAVED.  
"Uhm, well just as long as it works" Yumi said as she blinked in surprise. Xana? Willing to sacrifice his most dangerous creature to help her and the world? Incredible...  
"Ok, timer set. I'll be in Lyoko in a minute. You'd better be ready" she said as she started the clock and left the PDA on the chair as she made her way to the elevator.  
I WILL the PDA beeped as the lift's doors closed, and almost seemed to grin in triumph.

A few seconds later Yumi stepped out of the lift, walked towards one of the open scanners, and stepped inside as the timer on the transfer program ran down to zero and activated, shutting the doors of the scanner close with a soft thump.  
Yumi closed her eyes as the machine scanned her whole body, and then felt the world disappear in a blinding flash of light as she was virtualised and downloaded to Lyoko.  
With a dull hum her outline appeared in the sky over the frozen land that was the Ice Region, solidified into her kimono clad Lyoko form, and dropped to the ground with a soft thud.  
"Uhhh.." she groaned as she slowly stood up, raised a hand to her dizzy head, and then gasped as she stared at her hand.  
"What the-?" she said in shock as she gazed at the soft blue aura that glowed around her hand and flowed down her arm. A quick glance showed her that her whole body was wrapped up in the slightly tingling energy. And the source of the light: a star that shined and pulsed brightly in her pelvic region.  
"Is-is this the baby?" Yumi wondered out loud as her mind tried to connect this warm friendly glow with the horrible creature she'd seen in Jeremie's files, and failed.  
'How can something like this be evil?' she thought, and then shook her head.  
Of course it might seem nice and pretty now, but come the birth...  
"No way am I going to let that happen" Yumi muttered as she pictured that awful monster in her mind again, and then glanced to her left and sighed in relief as the escort Xana had promised her finally arrived, the two Tarantulas and one Krabe running across the icy ground until they came to within a few feet of her and stopped, the Tarantulas bowing to her as the Krabe lowered itself down until its belly just touched the ground and tilted its head slightly forward so that she could easily climb on top of it. Once she was safely sitting down on its hard shell of a body, the Krabe stood up and took off across the icy land with the two Tarantulas keeping pace alongside it as the three monsters raced towards where the Scyphozoa was waiting for them, which Yumi found out a few minutes later was a large cave set in the side of one of the tall glittering ice mountains that dotted the landscape.  
With an icy crunch the Krabe came to a stop in front of the cave mouth, and then gently lowered itself to the ground. Yumi muttered a thanks to it as she got off, and looked up towards the cave as with a soft electrical screech the tentacled form that was the Scyphozoa came floating out of the dark interior.  
For a few seconds the two of them just stood and stared at each other, and then Yumi said "Let's get this over with", and closed her eyes the monster came gliding down towards her.

And as the Scyphozoa's tentacles slowly inched closer to Yumi, Jeremie meanwhile got the fright of his life as his dorm room door was suddenly slammed open, his whole body jumping up into the air before flopping back down on his chair as he turned around and then sighed in relief.  
"Oh, Aelita, it's just you. I thought for sure it was Jim who had.. finally... lost... it...?" he squeaked to a stop as Aelita glared at him.  
"Uhm, something wrong?" he asked as he felt his body suddenly breaking out in a cold sweat.  
"Jeremie, are you a computer genius?"  
"What?" he said as he blinked in surprise at her question.  
"Well, if I do say so myself, I'm pretty handy when it comes to electronics and computers. After all, you guys didn't nickname me Einstein for nothing. I mean, look at the work I've done with the super computer, and of course my robot Kiwi II speaks for itself-"  
"Jeremie, yes or no please"  
"Uh, yes-"  
"Then what's been taking you so long with Yumi's scanner information?" Aelita asked as she frowned down at Jeremie. "I'd have thought that by now you'd have finished up analyzing the data you took of her and the baby. Yumi's going crazy with worry, and the info you've got could help ease her mind, so what's the delay?"  
"Well, uh, I've been having some trouble with the data-"  
"But you just said you're a computer genius"  
"Yes, but even a genius can't do anything when half of his data goes screwy"  
"Screwy?" Aelita frowned, confused. "How?"  
"Here, let me show you" Jeremie said as he turned back to his computer and quickly called up a couple of screens, each labeled Y Data.  
"I noticed this yesterday while fixing yet another 'glitch' in the data, which I've been finding numerous of. Check out the bottom of the screens"  
"What am I looking for?" Aelita asked as she glanced down.  
"Look at the date for each page"  
Aelita did, and her frown deepened.  
"But that's-"  
"Last week? I know" Jeremie said as he pushed back his glasses. "and guess who's to blame for it?"  
"Xana" Aelita said.  
"Yep" Jeremie nodded. "I've had to start all over again, thanks him and all the false and corrupted data he's added to the original. You wouldn't believe the mess he made. Stuff like Yumi would die, that the baby's DNA was corrupted... I mean, take a look at this file I deleted yesterday"  
"Uugh!" Aelita cringed as she saw the picture of the most nightmarish creature she'd ever seen.  
"That's what I said" Jeremie said, and then sighed. "Its stuff like this that's kept me so busy lately. And it took me all of last night to get every bit of of the original data back."  
Aelita glanced at his face, and saw how red his eyes were, how tired and haggard he looked, and cringed as a twinge of guilt stabbed through her for the beating down she'd given him earlier.  
"But still" Jeremie continued as he rubbed his weary eyes, "Other then to slow me down, I have no idea why Xana would've gone through all this trouble."  
_And then the tentacles grabbed Yumi..._  
"Ah...!" Aelita gasped as she suddenly felt a chill run up her spine, and almost fell to the floor as her whole body went ice cold.  
'Wh-what's happening to me?' she thought, and then her eyes widened in shock as she realized: "The baby!"  
"Aelita? What's wrong?" Jeremie asked as he saw how white her face was.  
"I-it's Yumi. Yumi's in trouble. She's on Lyoko, and she needs help!"  
"Huh? How do you th-?"  
"I'll explain later" Aelita said as she ran to the door. "Just go and get Odd, now!"

**Continues Next!**


	8. Chapter 3 Truths pt4

And now, lets continue the pulse pounding action. Will the gang be able to save Yumi in time? And just what is Xana up to? Find out below!

**Unexpected Development Part Three... Continued pt4**

"Okay, so will someone please tell me what the situation is?" Odd asked as he, Ulrich, Jeremie and Aelita raced down the concrete sewers on their skateboards and scooters.  
"Xana's gone after Yumi" Aelita said as she pushed her scooter into a faster speed with a kick of her foot. "I called Yumi's mom, who told me Yumi got a package from Jeremie this morning. She doesn't know what it was, but soon after that Yumi left the house. I think someone Xanafied delivered it"  
"But that can't be" Ulrich said as they whizzed around a corner.  
"The Super Scanner would've detected the activated tower"  
"Normally yes" Jeremie said as they came to a stop at the foot of the rungs of the ladder that led back up top. "But I checked just before I went to get Odd, and found Xana had disabled it"  
"Talk about sneaky" Odd said as he started to climb up, and then paused halfway up.  
"Wait, did you say she left? As in of her own free will and not carried away by Xana's goon?"  
"That's right Odd" Aelita nodded.  
"But why?"

A few minutes later, Aelita and the gang got the answers to their question as she and the guys stepped out of the Factory lift and walked into the Super Computer room.  
"Jeremie, look!" Aelita said as she saw what was on the computer's screen.  
"Isn't that the same data-"  
"I showed you this morning? Yeah, but why would Xana have– Hmm? What's this?" Jeremie frowned as he stepped up to his chair and picked up the silvery PDA sitting on the seat, and then his eyes went wide as he read the text on the screen.  
"Aelita, I think I found what Xana s- AAAH!!" Jeremie screamed as bolts of energy suddenly burst out of the little device, and would've electrocuted him if Ulrich hadn't come to his rescue with a quick karate chop to his wrist that jarred the PDA out of his hand and to the floor.  
And as it landed with a clatter, Aelita caught a quick glimpse of some of the words on its screen (HELP, TRUTH, CHILD, ERASE ) before Odd gave it a kick and sent it flying towards the wall where it shattered to bits.  
"So that's how he did it..." Aelita thought as she glanced back at the computer screen while Ulrich helped Jeremie back up on his feet and into his seat, and felt herself grow hot with anger as her mind put two and two together. Xana had preyed on Yumi's doubts and fears while hshe was weak with worry... and that was low, even for Xana.  
"Uh-oh..."  
"What's wrong?" Ulrich asked as he saw Jeremie's worried look.  
"I can't find Yumi" Jeremie said as he typed away at his keyboard. "It looks like the Super Scanner program wasn't the only thing Xana disabled"  
"Wow, he's really going out of his way this time, uh" Odd said as he leaned against Jeremie's chair.  
"That's not all" Jeremie said as he brought up a new window which showed Yumi's digital information. "The Scyphozoa's got her, and it's downloading something into her"  
"Do you have any idea where she is?" Ulrich asked.  
"I know she's in the Ice Region from the co-ordinates she used, but until I can get the tracking program back up again I don't know how else to find her-"  
"Then don't try to find her" Aelita said as an idea popped into her head.  
"Find the monsters with her instead!"  
"Of course, great idea Aelita" Jeremie grinned as he activated a sweep program of the Ice Region.  
"Make your way down to the scanner room. The moment I find her, I'll transfer you down as close to her as possible"

Seconds later the three young heroes were flying across the Ice Region as Jeremie guided them towards Yumi's location.  
"Okay guys, you're getting closer to Yumi. You should be just about-"  
"There!" Aelita said as she, Odd and Ulrich came racing over a snowy hill on their vehicles and spotted the Scyphozoa where it floated with Yumi in its grasp, and then the three of them had to go to evasive actions as the Tarantulas and the Krabe formed a protective line in front of the Scyphozoa and fired a massive volley of lasers at them. "Woah!" Odd shouted as he ducked and dived to avoid the bolts of power that flew at him, and then followed Aelita and Ulrich as they retreated to safety inside a large cave set in a wall of ice.  
"Okay, I think it's safe to say this isn't going to be easy" Odd said as the three of them huddled inside the cave, and then ducked his head as a bolt of power came blasting through wall just above his head.  
"Any ideas guys?"  
"I've got one" Aelita said "But it's going to be tricky. I'll need you two to keep them distracted for a bit, and I'll need to take the Overbike"  
"My bike?" Ulrich asked, "What for?"  
"You'll see. Now go be distracting!" she said, and then before Odd or Ulrich could say anything she jumped on to the Overbike, gunned its engine and took off... away from the battle!  
"Hey, where's she going?" Odd asked as he and Ulrich watched her disappear into the distance.  
"No idea" Ulrich said, and then stood up, pulled out his sword, stepped on to the Overwing, and almost fell off as he lost his balance for a second as it rose up into the air.  
"Heh heh..."  
"Shut up Odd!"

"Yahh!" Odd and Ulrich shouted as they came flying over the cave and charged the three monsters protecting the Scyphoza.  
"Laser Arrows!" Odd growled as he traded blasts with one of the Tarantulas, and then cheered as he managed to strike the Eye of Xana on its back and destroy it as he flew over its back.  
"Yes! Agh!" he cried out as the remaining Tarantula avenged its twin by blasting Odd's Overboard into nothing and then score a hit on Odd as a laser bolt smacked him straight in the chest as he tumbled down to the ground.  
And as the steel spider stalked closer to its fallen prey, Ulrich faced off against the massive red form that was the Krabe, and jumped off his vehicle as a blast blew it away.  
With a grunt he landed on the ground, and then ran towards the Krabe before "Triplicate!" splitting into three copies that ran around the looming brutish beast in a dizzingly fast circle.  
The Krabe turned left and right in confusion, and then smacked one of the copies with a laser bolt.  
Wrong Ulrich.  
"Hi-Yah!" Ulrich shouted as he landed on top of the Krabe, and was about to slam his sword into its weak point when all of them froze as they heard Aelita's voice suddenly shout:  
"LET – HER – GO!!"  
and everyone, monster and human, glanced up into the sky just in time to see Aelita come swooping down out of the dark blue beyond at a terrific speed on the Overbike before she smashed the vehicle into the Scyphozoa with a massive WHAM! that sent the beast, screaming in pain, tumbling through the air alongside Yumi and Aelita as all three of them fell hard to the ground.  
Everyone was still stuck in shock at what had happened, until Ulrich, taking advantage of the moment, stabbed his sword in deep into the Xana eye on the Krabe and jumped off to go help Odd who was penned down by the Tarantula, as the Krabe let of a keening noise and exploded.

"Uuhh.." Aelita groaned as she slowly got up from the icy ground, her body aching from the rough landing she'd done, and made her way to where Yumi was lying.  
"Yumi? Yumi, wake up!" Aelita said as she gently shook the sleeping girl, and got no response.  
""Jeremie, how long till you can get a vehicle ready?"  
"It'll take a me a few more minutes to get the program ready, just try to hang on for a bit more"  
"Okay, just hurry- Ah!" she gasped as something moved behind her, and glanced over her shoulder to see the Scyphozoa, having recovered from the blow Aelita had dealt him, slowly rise up into the air and turn towards her.  
"Oh no you don't" Aelita glared at the tentacled monster, and pointed her hand at it as she concentrated, focused, and sang out a long high note as she encased the lower half of its body and tentacles in ice.  
She smirked as she watched the Scyphozoa struggle to get loose, and then glanced as Yumi stirred in her arm and came to.  
"Hmm? Aelita?" Yumi blinked in surprise as she stared up at the pink haired girl.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"Rescuing you from Xana" Aelita said as she helped Yumi up to her feet.  
"Rescuing? Why? He was going to help me-!" Yumi started to shout at Aelita.  
"No, he lied to you Yumi, about everything. The data he showed you was all false! Xana's been actively messing around with the information Jeremie took from you so that he could manipulate you!"  
"He-he lied?"  
"Yes. Sorry Yu- Ah!" Aelita cried out and pulled back her hand as a glowing white light pulsed into being around Yumi and shocked her, although not as much as the look of hate on Yumi's face did.  
"You-lied-to-me?!" Yumi screamed as she glared at the still bound Scyphozoa, and then glanced about until her gaze fell on one of the massive ice hills close by, focused her telekinetic power on it and pulled.

The sharp loud crack of ice shattering made the Tarantula, who had been keeping Odd and Ulrich busy in battle, stop its assault on the two heroes as all three of them turned to the noise and stare in awe as they watched the huge block of ice lift up into the air, wrapped up in the same white energy as the glowing Yumi who, with her arms raised, looked as if she was physically lifting it up.  
"Wow, since when could Yumi lift up something that big?" Odd asked in hushed tones as he and Ulrich watched the icy hill drift over the ground until it was looming over the ice-stuck Scyphozoa, who was struggling madly as it desperately tried to escape from the mountain floating above it.  
Yumi, her body trembling with the effort of controlling such a large object, glared at the Scyphozoa and opened her mouth to say something, but the only thing that came out was a sigh as her over-taxed body just couldn't take the strain anymore, and she passed out and fell to the ground.  
The Scyphozoa had barely enough time to scream as the ice hill fell back down to an earthshaking BOOM! flashed the Scyphozoa a smile, and then with a earthshaking BOOM!, dropped the crushing weight of the ice hill down on it before the glow around her vanished and she passed out and fell to the ground.  
"Yumi!" Aelita cried out as she ran to unconscious friend's side, and shouted up into the air:  
"Jeremie, I need the Overwing, now!"

"Graa!" The Tarantula growled as it saw the Overwing materalise next to Aelita and Yumi, and was about to attack them when Ulrich jumped in front of it. "And where to you think you're going?" he said as he swung his sword at its face, and then dodged to the left as the monster tried to blast him.  
He spared a quick glance behind him and saw Aelita flying away towards a tower in the distance, and then grunted as he took a shot to his shoulder before swinging his sword left and right as he deflected the rest of the Tarantula's blasts.  
The spider-shaped monster was so focused on Ulrich that it completely forgot about Odd, until with a "Laser Arrow!", the cat boy jumped on top of its back and shot it dead center of its weak point.  
"Grah!" The Tarantula screamed and then exploded into bits as Odd jumped off it and gave Ulrich a thumbs up. "Heh, nicely done, yeah?"  
"Yeah Odd, nicely done"  
"Hey guys, Aelita and Yumi have reached the tower" Jeremie's voice suddenly floated down from above. "She's still passed out, so I'll devirtualise you guys first and then bring her and Aelita out later"  
"Okay Jeremie" Ulrich said, and glanced over his shoulder at the far away tower before he and Odd vanished from Lyoko and returned to the real world.

"Mmm..." Yumi groaned as she slowly woke up, and flinched as she felt a small flash pain throb in her head. "Hey, how are you feeling?" a voice asked, and she found herself looking up a a blurred face that slowly came into focus as that of Aelita, smiling down at her, and Yumi realized she was lying with her head on Aelita's lap.  
"W-where am I?" Yumi asked.  
"A tower. You were so drained from overusing your power that you needed to be healed" Aelita said as Yumi sat up. "That, plus Jeremie needed to do a quick scan on you to see what the Scyphozoa had put in you"  
"The Scyphozoa?" Yumi frowned, and then her eyes widened slightly as she remembered what had happened.  
"Ugh! I can't believe I actually trusted Xana" Yumi said as she smacked her forehead.  
"How stupid could I have been?"  
"Hey, it wasn't your fault" Aelita said as she put a hand on Yumi's shoulder.  
"You were stressed out, weak, and a little crazy from worry, and Xana played on that to trick you. If it would make you feel any better, I'd have done the same if it was me"  
"Heh, thanks" Yumi smiled. "By the way Aelita, how did you guys know I was here?"  
Aelita hesitated for a second, and then placed her hand on Yumi's stomach.  
"Because like you, I'm connected to the baby" she said as Yumi watched the glow from the star that was her child spread out up Aelita's arm until she was glowing with the same soft light as Yumi.  
"And when it was in danger, I could sense it. I could sense how scared it was."  
"Scared?" Yumi asked, surprised.  
Aelita nodded. "It was as scared as you were. At the last second, just before the Scyphozoa grabbed you, you knew it was wrong, right?"  
Yumi nodded. "But still, part of me wanted to go through with it and be free, lead a normal life again. I mean, my mom would be happy to stop stressing over shamefully pregnant little me-"  
"No, she wouldn't, trust me on this" Aelita said.  
"She told me something this morning that you should know about, but I'll tell you once we get back to Factory" Aelita said as she stood up and helped Yumi to her feet.  
"We'd better first let the guys know your okay, since I cut off the communication lines for our little chat" Aelita said as she opened up a data window and activated the com program.  
"Jeremie, Yumi's woken up"  
"That's great, and just in time. I've just finished analyzing the virus Xana was uploading into her. You ready for this Yumi?"  
"I'm ready" Yumi said, even as she felt her stomach twist in worry.  
"First the good news: the Scyphozoa wasn't able to upload the complete virus into you, so whatever Xana had wanted to do Aelita had managed to stop"  
"Oh, thank goodness" Yumi sighed, relieved. "So then, what's the bad news?"  
"The Scyphozoa did manage to get something in you, a viral hormonal program designed to stimulate rapid meta-growth activity in the baby's cellular structure"  
"In english please, Jeremie?"  
"The baby's going to develop much faster then normal. Judging from the data, I'd say you've got four months until she's born"  
"Which means you'll have to give up those tight black pants you like so much" Odd's voice teased her from over the line, and Yumi smiled and then laughed and then stopped as she realised:  
"Jeremie, did you say 'she'? As in, my baby she?"  
"Nice going Einstein" Aelita and Odd heard Odd say.  
"Um, sorry" Jeremie apologized. "It happened when I was going through your data just now. I saw the baby's DNA, and it's chromosome XX, as in girl"  
"Yeah well, what did you expect with two girls being the dads?" Odd said, although Yumi and Aelita weren't listening as they took in this new bit of info.  
"Heh, our girl Aelita" Yumi said as she smiled her pink haired friend.  
"We're going to have a girl. And you know what?" she said as she rubbed her stomach.  
"If she's got your brains, and my attitude, and our looks, then I feel so sorry for the boys"

A few minutes later, after Aelita and Yumi returned from Lyoko:  
"Wow... I can't believe my mom's managed to keep that from me for so long" Yumi said as she and Aelita walked down the road towards her house.  
Aelita had just finished telling Yumi about what Yumi's mom had gone through when she'd been pregnant at sixteen with Yumi, and to say that Yumi was slightly shocked would've been an understatement.  
"Still, at least now I know why she's been the way she's been the last few days. Heh, I guess I kind of made a mess of things, huh?"  
"Heh, we'll just blame it on your raging hormones"  
Yumi laughed and nodded, and then said:  
"Still, thanks Aelita, for all the help, even though I've been, you know-"  
"Hey, what are friends for?" Aelita said as she gave Yumi's hand a squeeze, and held it as they walked on in comfortable silence until they reached Yumi's home and stopped outside of the gate.  
"So, I guess there's only one way to solve this new problem now" Yumi said as she gently rubbed her tummy and stared up at her house.  
"Are you sure you about this?" Aelita asked.  
Yumi stood silent for a minute, and then smiled and nodded.  
"Yes. I've been causing my mom nothing but stress and worry, so I think it's just fair she knew what's up"  
"Okay" Aelita said, and then followed Yumi up into her house.

"Hey, Mom? There's something I've got to tell you..."

**Continues Next!**

**Last bit of the Truths chapter coming up next, and then on with the story**


	9. Chapter 3 Truths pt5

And now, finally, heres the concluding part of the Truths chapter. Hope you enjoy it, and then continue on to the next new chapter. Oh yes, and I'll update the story next week. Till then!

**An Unexpected Development – Truths... Conclusion**

"So let me get this straight" Mrs. Ishiyama said as she stared at Yumi and Aelita sitting opposite of her at the kitchen table.  
"You're the 'Father' of the baby, is that right?"  
Aelita nodded, blushing slightly.  
"And it's because of this incident that happened on.. on.."  
"Lyoko, Mom" Yumi said.  
"Thanks. So, because of this incident that happened on Lyoko, thats why Yumi's pregnant?"  
"Y-yes, but again, I really didn't know this was going to happen. I just wanted to help Yumi get back to Earth and it was the best idea at the time and-"  
"Hey! Calm down Aelita, it's ok" Yumi said as she gave the hyperventilating and ranting girl's hand a squeeze. "It wasn't your fault. Right Mom?"  
"Yes, but.. why are you telling me all this now?" Mrs. Ishiyama asked as she gave the girls a questioning look. "I mean, it does help explain a lot about your pregnancy, and why you always stayed out so late some nights, so why give up the secret now?"  
"Because there's been another, er.. incident" Yumi said.  
"Oh no..." Mrs Ishiyama groaned and then turned to Aelita.  
"Please don't tell me your pregnant too!"  
"What?" Aelita gasped as Yumi spluttered and choked on her tea.  
"Oh no, no, it's nothing that bad, it's just... er.."  
"Remember that evil virus I told you about, Mom? Xana? Well, he tricked me into believing he wanted to help, and now thanks to him the baby's got.. how did Jeremie put, Aelita?"  
"A viral hormonal program was added to the baby's DNA which will cause a meta-growth activity within the cellular develop of the child" Aelita said, and as Mrs. Ishiyama stared stupidly at her, she added: "The baby's growing faster, which means she'll be born much earlier then normal"  
"How much earlier?" Yumi's mom asked.  
"Four months"  
This time it was Mrs. Ishiyama's turn to choke on her tea.  
"Four months?!"  
"Well, if we hadn't saved Yumi when we did, then Xana's virus probably would've made her give birth right then and there" Aelita said.  
"Um, okay, but still, this will take some explaining to everyone" Mrs Ishiyama said as she used her napkin to rub away some drops of tea from the table.  
"Not actually Mom" Yumi said.  
"After all, we've already got our doctor stumped with the fact that I'm a virgin that's pregnant, so this'll just be another mystery to him"  
"Mm, point taken" Mrs. Ishiyama said.  
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it, so I guess we'll have to take it in stride. Hopefully it might finally make your father realize that what the doctor said was true"  
"One more thing Mom" Yumi said as her mom stood up and started to gather up the cups and saucers.  
"Can Aelita stay over again tonight?"

Later that night, after dinner and after Yumi had dragged one of the spare futons up to her room for Aelita to sleep on, the dark haired girl flopped down on her bed with a sigh.  
"Mmm, after today I'm really looking forward to getting a good night's sleep"  
"Uhm, yeah, sure" Aelita nodded absently as she checked her watch.  
"Hm? What's up Aelita?" Yumi asked as she sat up in bed and stared down at her friend where she lay on the floor at the foot end of Yumi's bed.  
"Why are you so nervous?"  
"Oh, no reason" Aelita said as she glanced down at her watch again, and then both of them jumped as something went thump! on Yumi's window.  
"What was that?" Yumi frowned as she stood up and walked over to her window.  
"I don't know, but I think I'll go downstairs to check it out"  
"Downstairs? Hey wait-" Yumi started to say, but Aelita had already left, and as Yumi wondered what the pink haired girl was up to a knock made her turn back to her window where Ulrich was standing, and in a flash she realized why Aelita had been acting so weird.  
'And I thought Odd was sneaky..' she thought to herself as she walked up to her window and opened it.  
"Uh, hey Yumi" Ulrich said as he stepped into her room and closed the window behind him.  
"So, um, how are you feeling?"  
"A little bit tired, nothing some sleep can't cure" Yumi said as she sat down on her bed.  
"So, what brings you here this time of night?"  
"Well, I- I came to say sorry for being such a jerk to you when you needed me most" Ulrich said nervously as he stood in front of her. "It's just that my head got so stuffed with my own worries that I didn't even consider for a minute that you'd be just as worried too, even more"  
"And so, if you'll forgive me, I promise I'll do my best to help you through this, even if I have to marry you like your dad wants me to"  
Yumi stared in surprise at Ulrich, and was about to thank him when she saw a faint flicker of fear flash through his eyes.  
'He's scared I'm going to say yes' she realized, and to her surprise she didn't feel angry at that.  
"Thanks Ulrich" she said as she stood up and gave him a hug.  
"But you don't have to worry. If we can just be friends again, that'll be okay with me"  
"Really?" Ulrich said, and then, as he realized how relieved he'd sound, asked Yumi:  
"Are you sure?"  
"I'm sure" Yumi smiled. "Now you better get back to Kadic quick, because if my Dad catches you here he'll definitely make you walk up the aisle with me!"  
A few minutes later, after Ulrich had shimmied down the drain and scurried off into the dark streets back to school, Aelita came walked back into the room with a slightly sheepish look on her face.  
"So, did you and Ulrich work things out?"  
"Yeah" Yumi nodded. "He offered to help support me, but I told him thanks, but no thanks"  
"Huh? But why?" Aelita asked, confused.  
"Because" Yumi said as she climbed back into her bed and smiled at Aelita.  
"I realized I didn't need him"

"I still don't think it was such a good thing telling your Mom" Jeremie said the next day as they all sat together on the stone benches under a tree in the courtyard of Kadic High.  
"Yes, I know, but at least now I won't have to come up with an excuse if something else does happen with the baby" Yumi said as she leaned back against the bench's backrest and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the sun shining down on her.  
"By the way, have you finished finding out why Xana was so interested in my baby?"  
"Not yet, but I'm sure I'll know why the baby got him so worked up by tonight"  
"And speaking of my baby... you two can come out now! I know you're hiding there!" Yumi said to the bushes behind her which suddenly started to whisper to each other, and then shook and rustled as Milly and Tamiya stepped out of them, looking very sheepish at having been caught spying on the gang.  
"Um, sorry Yumi, but we couldn't hearing.. Um, is it true? You're really pregnant?"  
"Yep" Yumi nodded at the two dumbstruck kids, and then patted the open space on the seat next to her.  
"And I'm actually glad you two are here, because I was going to come see you guys today to ask if you could write about me in the newspaper"  
"Wait, you want us to tell the school you're pregnant?" Tamiya asked, shocked.  
"That's right" Odd grinned as he walked up behind Yumi.  
"We've got to warn everyone so that they can get to some food from the cafeteria before Yumi eats it all up"  
"Oh thanks Odd" Yumi said in mock anger as Milly and Tamiya giggled.  
"And first off" she said as she saw Milly glance towards Ulrich. "Ulrich is not the father"  
Milly's cheeks turned scarlet, and then she shook herself and went into professional mode as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her notebook and pen.  
"Okay, so let's start from the beginning. When did you first find out you where pregnant?"

"Well, that didn't go to badly" Yumi said as she and the gang sat together in the cafeteria during lunchtime.  
The interview with Milly hadn't taken as long as Yumi had thought it would, and although she felt a slight thread of dread slither through her gut about tomorrow, at least this time she'd be able to handle the situation of everyone finding out better then last time.  
"Yeah, although I see the cafeteria will be doing badly soon" Odd said as he scooped a mouthful of ice cream into his mouth. "Looks like I wasn't too far off the mark this morning, eh Yumi?"  
Yumi blushed slightly and glanced down at her tray, which just a few moments ago had held quite a bit of food plus two bowls of ice cream for dessert (Aelita had given Yumi hers), and now had only empty plates covering it.  
"Heh, it almost looks like you and Odd are having an eating contest" Ulrich grinned, which Yumi was glad to see since she'd been worried that the chat they had had last night might have upset him.  
And then a growl from her stomach pulled her out of her thoughts and back to the cafeteria as she realized to her shock that she was still hungry.  
"Hey, don't look so surprised" Jeremie said as he saw the look on Yumi's face.  
"With how the baby's growing in you, I wouldn't be surprised if you ate all day long just to keep up with its growth"  
"Yeah I know but now I'm craving ice cream again... and Odd's got the last bowl!"  
"Mm?" Odd mumbled around the ice cream stuffed in his mouth as he glanced worriedly at his four friends that were staring at him.  
"Oh, all right" he sighed as he swallowed his dessert, and gave Yumi his half full bowl.  
"Thanks Odd, you're the best!" Yumi grinned as she tucked into the ice cold dessert, and as soon as she finished it she sat back, stared sadly at the bowl and sighed.  
"What's wrong Yumi?" Aelita asked.  
"I'm still in the mood for ice cream" Yumi grumbled as she frowned down at the bowl.  
"Well, since you just finished the last bowl, you'll have to wait till you get home tonight for more" Odd said. "Unless you can magically- woah!" he gasped as he, Odd, Jeremie and Aelita watched wide eye as a soft glow surrounded Yumi and the ice cream bowl, and then for a second there was a high clear note, and as it and the glow vanished the bowl was once again filled with ice cream.  
"Uh, Jeremie?" Odd said. "I don't think you need to bother analyzing that data anymore..."

**Next Up: Stalkers**


	10. Chapter 4 Stalkers pt1

Last chapter for now, with the update coming next week. And as you'll see, something sneaky's going down in:

**An Unexpected Development Chapter 4 – Stalkers part 1**

"Okay, so are you clear on the plan?"  
"Yeah yeah, I know what to do" Sissi huffed as she sat on her bed with her cellphone pressed to her ear. "And anyway, don't forget it was me who suggested this in the first place, got it?"  
"I got it" the male voice on the other end said. "But don't worry, once we've got the proof we need, this front page story will make us both rich and famous"  
"Yeah, this is going to be one great partnership" Sissi grinned.  
"But only if you can accomplish your half"  
"Hey, trust me" the guy said in a mock hurt voice. "I'll get the dirt we need. After all, they don't call me James "Ferret" Mousey for nothing"

_Intruder of last report has been spotted again. I repeat, intruder has returned. Please advise. Do we leave him, or arrest him and bring him to base? __  
__Stand down. Do not get involved. He is of no trouble to us... yet. Keep your position, and continue with the observation. __  
__Roger._

Yumi sighed as she sat at her window and gazed down at the guy trying to do furtive skulking in her backyard.  
A week and a half had passed since the story of her pregnancy was posted in the school newspaper, and the same scene like the last time people found out she was expecting had repeated itself, with people staring at her and whispering about her. Some in shock, some in surprise, and some in anger.  
One of the angry ones was Sissi, of course, who was dead sure Ulrich was the father, even if the newspapers and Yumi's doctor said otherwise, and she'd said she'd find a way to restore Ulrich's good name, since Yumi had probably gotten him drunk first before doing.. you know.  
She'd tried to expel Yumi, but Mr Delmas, who did know the truth (about Ulrich), had firmly told Sissi: "No"  
And there was William, who did believe Ulrich wasn't the father, but kept on calling her and asking if she was all right, and if maybe she wanted to talk about it, and of course, that he was there in case Yumi ever needed him. Yeah, right...  
But then the story leaked out into the city, and the reporters came knocking on the Ishiyama's door demanding to know what was going on.  
"Is it true your daughter's pregnant?"  
"She's a teenager, how did it happen?"  
"Is she keeping it?"  
"How come no one's mentioned a father?"  
"Why haven't you told anyone about this? Is it because she was raped and you're too ashamed about it?"  
That last comment had made her father see red, and he'd punched the guy so hard that the guy's nose broke, and he lost a tooth.  
After that the newspapers first went into a frenzy, but when they saw the look on Mr Ishiyama's face they turned very friendly very quickly.  
A week later, and the media's interest in the "Virgin Teen" waned, then dropped.  
Except for one guy, the guy who Yumi's dad had punched, the same guy who was at that moment sneaking about the Ishiyama's backyard.  
James "Ferret" Mousey, one of the best reporters for the trash magazine Rumors Abound!  
Yumi had to give him one thing though: He sure was brave.  
Especially of what would happen if her dad found him.  
Yumi watched the reporter for a few more seconds, and then sighed, stood up and made for her bedroom door.  
She'd better get rid of him before her mom or dad got back.

"Ferret" Mousey wasn't in the mood to be gotten rid of though, as he inched closer and closer to the Ishiyama's house. A front page scoop was a-waiting for him in that house, and he hoped no one was in as he needed to sneak into the house for part of the puzzle he needed in proofing the facts of his story.  
"Hmm, seems quiet enough" he muttered to himself as he glanced at the house for any signs of life, and was about to make his way to the back door when said door opened up and the Ishiyama girl came walking out with an angry look on her face.  
"Hey you, I thought the police told you you can't come within 30 yards of this house" Yumi growled at Mousey, but that didn't bother him as for the first time she was alone, completely alone!  
Personal interview, here we come...  
"Yeah yeah, I know, but I just want to talk" he said as he gave her his best disarming smile.  
"I think you'd better just leave before my parents come back"  
Mousey's smile faltered, but he quickly brought it back as he stepped up to her.  
"Hey, all I want is just to ask a few questions-"  
"No, you just want me to say stuff for you to twist in that rag of a magazine of yours" Yumi glared at him. "Now get out of our yard!"  
"Aw come on-" Mousey said grabbed her arm, and the next moment lay on the ground clutching his nose which Yumi had broken again with her Pencak Silat training.  
Yumi sighed and walked back into her house as Mousey, his eyes tearing, watched her leave, and as soon as the backdoor slammed shut he pulled out a handkerchief, but instead of pressing it to his smashed nose, he carefully placed the loose hair he'd seen on her sleeve on the soft white cotton square.  
"Mission accomplished" he grinned, and then flinched as his nose throbbed painfully.

Meanwhile, over at Kadic, Ulrich was walking to his room when he stopped and frowned as he saw Sissi leaning against next to his dorm room's door.  
"Hey Ulrich, do you have a minute? There's something I'd like to talk to you about"  
"If it's about Yumi, Sissi, then forget it" Ulrich growled as he walked past her and unlocked the door.  
"Please Ulrich, I just want to apologize"  
"Apologize?" Ulrich froze in shock as he stood halfway into his room.  
"Yes" Sissi nodded. "I- I want to say I'm sorry for you I've been treating you and Yumi. But I want to make it up to you by helping you to come out clean about you being the dad of her kid-"  
"For the last time Sissi, I am not the father, okay?" Ulrich said.  
"Aw, come on Ulrich, I promise it'll be as easy as plucking a hair from your head" Sissi smiled as she demonstrated by tugging out few strands from Ulrich's hair.  
"Ouch! Okay, that does!" Ulrich glared as he rubbed his head.  
"Get out Sissi. Now!"  
"Hmmph! Fine, be in denial" Sissi huffed, and briskly marched out of Ulrich's room and down to the stairs, where, once she was sure no one was around, she pulled out a small plastic bag, slipped the hairs still held in her hand into it and smiled as she stared at the brown strands.  
"Heh, now I've got you"

**Continued Soon!**


	11. Chapter 4 Stalkers pt2

Heh, what a miracle that I can actually update when I wanted to. Heh, and to Daydreamer, nice one with the Magical Baby. Oh, and Trixter, you wanted to know how the baby did what it did, well then read on for some answers in:

**An Unexpected Development Chapter 4 – Stalkers part 2**

_Field Team reporting. Telephone and computer taps in place.  
Excellent. Remember, unless ordered otherwise, you are only to keep him under surveillance. If this "Ferret" does find anything that could jeopardize this project-  
Not to worry sir. We'll a tight watch him. Field Team out._

James Mousey, aka the Ferret, sat on his soft leather chair and flinched as his nose throbbed painfully under the washcloth filled with ice that rested on it.  
'I can't believe she broke my nose' he thought to himself as he gently pressed the ice cold cloth against his bright red nose and relived the crack of when Yumi's elbow had cracked against his face. 'Still, no pain no gain, and once I've got this story, I'll definitely be gaining' he smiled to himself as he pictured in his mind again the rush of fame his article would generate.  
'Hmm, "Underage . Scandal Revealed".. naw. "High School Love Gone Wrong"? Nope, not trashy enough' Mousey thought as he tried to think of the best head liner for his story, and then leaned down to pick up his cellphone as it started ringing on his coffee table.  
"Hello? Oh, hey kid, what's up?"  
"I've got it" Sissi's happy sounding voice said from his cell's speaker.  
"And you? Did you manage to get some of Yumi's hair?"  
"Yeah, but at the price of a broken nose" Mousey grimaced.  
"Still, now all we need to do now is just wait for the results of the tests and then bam! Yumi's secret will be blown wide open"  
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Siss asked.  
"Of course I'm sure" Mouse said.  
"I managed to get some of Yumi's blood from the blood test they did on her at the hospital, thanks to a friend of mine working there. And thanks to another friend of mine, that doctor at the University's Biology department, we'll be able to do a DNA test that prove Ulrich's the father of this baby. Of course, we'll have to share the fame with the doc since he'll be using his new method of genetic splicing to help us, but it'll be worth it"  
"Heh, I can't wait!" Sissi laughed.  
"You and me both kid" Mousey grinned.

The next morning, at the Ishiyama house, Yumi had just finished her bath and was getting dressed when someone knocked on her door.  
"It's me Yumi"  
"Hey Aelita, come on in"  
"Great news" Aelita said as she stepped inside the bathroom. "Jeremie just called. He's finished analyzing the data he took of you and the baby, and wants us to get to the factory as soon as possible"  
"Okay, just let me finish getting dressed and we can go" Yumi said as she continued to stare intently at the mirror.  
"Don't worry, we've got plenty of time. I told Jeremie it wouldn't be save for us to walk to the factory alone, so he, Ulrich and Odd are going to come pick us up here" Aelita smiled, and then frowned as Yumi sighed. "What's wrong?"  
"Oh, nothing" Yumi said as she twisted her body left and then right.  
"Well, it's just... do you think I'm starting to look a bit fat?"

"Hello, James Mousey"  
"It's Sissi. Ulrich, Odd and Jeremie just left here two seconds ago to meet up with Yumi and that girl Aelita"  
"Thanks kid, I'll trail them from her house. Later" he said as he disconnected the call, and then grabbed his camera and mini tape recorder before dashing out of his house and out to his car.

A few minutes later the sly snoop reporter was sneaking from bushes to trees as he followed the five kids to what looked like an abandoned factory.  
"Ah, so this must be their love nest" he muttered to himself as he quickly snapped off a few pictures of the place. He did a quick check to see how much film he had left, and then made his way across the bridge to the factory entrance.  
He crouched down and slowly peeked over the broken edge of the entrance just in time to see the kids climb into an elevator before its doors closed shut and the lift started to descend down. Mousey's heart was beating a mile a minute. There was one part of his suspicions regarding Yumi and her friends that he hadn't told Sissi about, and now he was about to proof it. Five young kids.. having . in an abandoned place where no one would ever come looking, and he was about to expose it to the world!  
He couldn't stop grinning as he tested one of the ropes that hung down from the ceiling and swung down to the ground. Fame was just a few feet away...  
It took him a few minutes, but he finally found a small crawlspace that led down into the recesses of the factory. It was a tight fit, but he had no other choice since he couldn't use the elevator without the kids hearing him.  
So he crawled and crawled until he saw a light up ahead, and then gasped as he looking from the opening to see a room that looked like something out of a Sci-Fi movie.  
Cables ran across the floor to a massive multi-screen computer which stood next to a machine in the center of the room that projected a full 3D hologram of some other wordly looking place.  
The stunned Mousey just stared at the fantastic set-up before Yumi's voice snapped him back to Earth.  
"So Jeremie, what did you find?"  
"A possible answer to why Xana was after the baby. Remember the thing with the ice cream? Well, that's part of the reason. You see, the baby's super fast growth is causing her cells to generate a massive amount of energy, energy which got coupled with her mixed DNA from you and Aelita. But, and this is the amazing bit, because you were virtualised when you got pregnant, the baby didn't just get your DNA, it also got your abilities"  
"Oohh.." Odd said.  
"You understood that?" Ulrich asked.  
"Nope" Odd grinned.  
"Basicly Odd, the baby's got Yumi's telekinesis and my creative ability" Aelita explained.  
"And that's how Yumi made the ice cream appear. Her body's charged with the energy the baby's releasing as it's growing, and unconsciously she tapped into it when she was hungry"  
"And that's why Xana's after it" Ulrich said. "We all saw what Yumi did when she used some of that power. Just imagine someone with so much power under Xana's control... he would be unstoppable"  
"Well, not completely unstoppable" Jeremie said.  
"The baby's powers are only this strong because of the virus fueling it. After she's born and the virus disappears, she might just be a normal baby"  
Crouching up near the ceiling, in the crawlspace hidden in the shadows, Mousey could only listen, shocked. 'A virtual world? Amazing.. and now wonder there's no father' he thought. 'What with the dad being a mom herself. Oh man, this is going to be one helluva story' he grinned to himself as he held the mini cassette recorder up to the crawlspace's opening and recorded the conversation below.  
'Now just to get some pics to back my claim, and then I'm out of here' he thought as he brought his camera up, aimed carefully to get as much of the room in the viewfinder as he could, and pressed the button.  
Click! went the camera, and as one Yumi, Odd, Ulrich, Aelita and Jeremie looked up as the camera's flash lit up the room.  
"Hey, I think someone's up there!" Ulrich said, and as if to prove him right two more flashes flickered from up high before the shadow behind it spun around and quickly started to crawl away.  
"To the elevator!" Jeremie shouted, but it was too late.  
By the time the gang reached the top floor and climbed up the ropes to the bridge, Mousey was already a small dot far away.

"Yes!Yes!Yes!" James Mousey laughed as he danced with his camera hugged tightly to his chest. What a story! He thought it was just going to sensational, but this!  
"Oh yeah, Mousey's going to be so famous!" he laughed and quickly dialed Sissi's number on his cell.  
"Yeah?"  
"Sissi, Mousey here. We've hit the jackpot!"  
"What? What're you talking about?"  
"I've just found out the most incredible thing about that Yumi. Oh man, wait till you hear what I've discovered-?"  
But he never got the chance as his TV suddenly came on, the screen filled with static, and before Mousey could react a large black cloud came oozing out of machine and swooped down and into him.  
Choking, gasping, Mousey dropped his mobile to the floor as the black spectre merged itself into his mind, his body, his very being and claimed him for itself.  
"Hello? Hello Mousey, you still there?" Sissi's voice asked from the small speaker on mobile, and the new Mousey reached down, picked it up and said: _"Sorry, I'll have to call you back later"_ before he dropped the phone back down to the tiled floor and left his house by phasing right through his front door like a ghost.

**Continues Next Week!**

**Heh, yep, Xana strikes again! And what about the guys spying on Mousey? What will they do? Find out next week!**


End file.
